A plant for the production, processing and packaging of iodized, technical and road salt in Georgia
Project
The full project description — from the market and technology to the financial model.
The project provides for the creation of a modern salt processing and packaging plant in Georgia that will produce, from imported rock salt:
The plant will operate a full technological cycle, covering:
The aim of the project is to establish local production in Georgia and reduce dependence on salt imports.
The main objectives of the project are:
Salt is a strategic everyday consumer product.
The main consumers of salt in Georgia are:
The Georgian market is almost entirely dependent on imports.
The plant will carry out in-house:
Raw material sources:
Direct purchasing significantly reduces costs and increases competitiveness.
International shipping
Domestic distribution
Salt production is an energy-intensive process.
Energy costs in Iran and Turkey are often lower, which gives products made there a competitive advantage.
For this reason the project provides for a solar power plant.
Using solar energy will:
The plant will be designed from the outset to allow for future expansion.
The plant will produce three main products:
The core product.
Packaging:
Annual structure:
Technical salt will be intended for:
Road salt will be intended for:
The plant will be designed so that a third shift can be added when needed.
The third shift will be used for:
This segment will increase total turnover by approximately 30%.
The plant will operate a full technological cycle.
The project will be located on a 6,000 m² site.
| The plant's infrastructure includes | Area |
|---|---|
| Production building (height: 15 metres) | 1,500 m² |
| Raw material warehouse | 1,200 m² |
| Finished goods warehouse | 1,200 m² |
| Technical and administrative areas | 300 m² |
| Loading yards and internal roads | 1,800 m² |
The project provides for the plant's own solar power station.
Purpose:
The plant will be supplied by its own industrial borehole.
The borehole will be used for:
A fully automated line of Chinese manufacture will be selected for the plant.
Main equipment:
Includes:
The final cost will be determined once commercial offers have been received.
The plant will be managed according to modern management principles.
The organizational structure includes:
| Position | Headcount |
|---|---|
| Administration | |
| General Director | 1 |
| Finance Manager | 1 |
| Production Manager | 1 |
| Logistics Manager | 1 |
| Sales Manager | 1 |
| Office Administrator | 1 |
| Total | 6 |
| Technical staff | |
| Mechanics | 3 |
| Electricians | 3 |
| Total | 6 |
| Production staff | |
| Line operators | 24 |
| Packaging operators | 16 |
| Total | 40 |
| Warehouse | |
| Warehouse staff | 8 |
| Transport | |
| International drivers | 10 |
| Domestic distribution drivers | 5 |
| Total | 15 |
| Total headcount | 81 employees |
International trucks (used)
Domestic distribution vehicles
Total
| Item | Quantity | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| International trucks (used) | 10 | 450,000 USD |
| Domestic distribution vehicles | 5 | 125,000 USD |
| Total | 575,000 USD |
Site preparation
Buildings
Processing line
Solar power plant
Borehole
Vehicle fleet
Auxiliary equipment
Working capital
| Item | Includes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Site preparation | gravelling, internal roads, concrete works | 200,000 USD |
| Buildings | production building, raw material warehouse, finished goods warehouse, administrative block | 1,000,000 USD |
| Processing line | Chinese manufacture | 1,200,000 USD |
| Solar power plant | 300–400 kW | 300,000 USD |
| Borehole | 75,000 USD | |
| Vehicle fleet | 575,000 USD | |
| Auxiliary equipment | loader, warehouse equipment, pallet system | 150,000 USD |
| Working capital | 3 months' stock: raw material, fuel, salaries, packaging | 500,000 USD |
| Site | 200,000 USD |
| Buildings | 1,000,000 USD |
| Processing line | 1,200,000 USD |
| Solar power plant | 300,000 USD |
| Borehole | 75,000 USD |
| Transport | 575,000 USD |
| Auxiliary equipment | 150,000 USD |
| Working capital | 500,000 USD |
| Total investment | 4,000,000 USD |
| Design | 2 months |
| Permits | 1 month |
| Construction works | 6 months |
| Equipment manufacturing | 5 months |
| Transportation | 1 month |
| Installation | 2 months |
| Testing and commissioning | 1 month |
| Overall timeline | 12–15 months |
From project start to commercial operation.
The plant will operate on a two-shift basis.
1 kg iodized salt
20 kg sacks
| Product structure | Share | Annual volume | Equivalent to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 kg iodized salt | 40% | 12,000 tonnes | 12,000,000 × 1 kg packs |
| 20 kg sacks | 60% | 18,000 tonnes | 900,000 sacks |
| Product | Wholesale price |
|---|---|
| 1 kg iodized salt | 0.55 GEL |
| 20 kg sack | 7.20 – 8.00 GEL (used in the financial model: 7.60 GEL) |
1 kg packs
20 kg sacks
Core product turnover
| Calculation | Annual turnover | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kg packs | 12,000,000 units × 0.55 GEL | 6,600,000 GEL |
| 20 kg sacks | 900,000 sacks × 7.60 GEL | 6,840,000 GEL |
| Core product turnover | 6,600,000 + 6,840,000 | 13,440,000 GEL |
Using a third shift, the plant will be able to:
| Core turnover | 13,440,000 GEL |
| Additional turnover | 4,032,000 GEL |
| Total annual turnover | 17,472,000 GEL |
Includes:
Even with the solar power plant, the following remain:
| Raw material | 810,000 GEL |
| Transportation | 3,300,000 GEL |
| Salaries | 2,400,000 GEL |
| Packaging | 1,500,000 GEL |
| Energy and technical servicing | 900,000 GEL |
| Domestic distribution | 700,000 GEL |
| Administrative costs | 600,000 GEL |
| Total operating costs | 10,210,000 GEL |
| Total turnover | 17,472,000 GEL |
| Operating costs | 10,210,000 GEL |
| Annual operating profit | 7,262,000 GEL |
The project is a high-margin industrial investment.
Key advantages:
The project has significant potential to generate stable cash flows and to expand further.
Risk: an increase in the international price of rock salt.
Mitigation:
Risk: the low production cost of foreign manufacturers.
Mitigation:
Risk: rising electricity tariffs.
Mitigation: the solar power plant will reduce the plant's dependence on external energy prices.
Risk: changes in demand in winter or summer.
Mitigation: developing the technical and road salt segment, which provides additional revenue throughout the year.
The project will be designed from the outset to allow for expansion.
In future it will be possible to:
The project will create:
The project will contribute to:
The project provides for:
The project to establish an iodized, technical and road salt plant in Georgia is a strategic investment opportunity.
The project's main advantages are:
The project is a long-term, sustainable and scalable industrial investment in the Georgian market.
The most frequently asked questions about the project, products, raw materials, technology and finances.
The project's goal is to build a plant in Georgia that uses modern technology to produce iodized edible salt, supplying the local market with a quality Georgian product and reducing dependence on imports.
The plant will be located in Kareli municipality, on a site of approximately 6,000 m².
The base production volume is calculated at 15,000 tonnes of finished iodized salt per year, on one 8-hour shift.
The project's main advantage is that it is a business built on an everyday consumer product. Salt is an essential product, and demand for it is relatively stable.
In addition, the project has several further advantages:
15,000 tonnes is the project's base, conservative production volume.
It is calculated on:
50 tonnes × 300 days = 15,000 tonnes per year.
This approach lets the investor assess the project's financial performance on single-shift operation rather than at maximum load.
Yes. Using the same production infrastructure, and subject to confirmation of the technical capability, the operating mode can be increased:
| Mode | Annual production |
|---|---|
| 1 shift / 8 hours | 15,000 tonnes |
| 2 shifts / 16 hours | 30,000 tonnes |
| 3 shifts / 24 hours | 45,000 tonnes |
This represents a growth opportunity, not the base financial calculation.
The base product will be iodized edible salt in various packaging.
The main initial formats are:
Small, high-margin packs will be added at a later stage.
The 1 kg pack targets retail consumers, while the 20 kg pack targets the professional and wholesale segment.
This way the plant works at the same time with:
The base financial model uses the following split:
Out of 15,000 tonnes, this means:
This is one of the project's most important growth opportunities.
Besides the core 1 kg and 20 kg products, the plant will be able to gradually add high value-added products.
Of particular interest are 0.250 and 0.800 gram individual portions in attractive, modern packaging.
Their target customers will be:
An additional margin of approximately 1 GEL per kilogram is assumed for this product.
In other words, small packs let us sell the same core product at a higher added value.
Because with small packs the customer pays not only for the salt, but also for:
So revenue per kilogram on small packs can significantly exceed that of regular 1 kg or 20 kg packs.
Yes. Private Label products can be offered to B2B customers.
For example, individual salt portions made under the name of a hotel, restaurant or food chain.
This creates an additional commercial opportunity and allows a higher price.
As the project develops, the following could be considered:
The specific commercial effect of these directions will have to be established from the market and actual orders.
The main raw material will be rock salt, which can be purchased from several directions, including:
Having several supplier countries reduces dependence on a single source.
The base financial model uses 8 USD per tonne of raw salt.
This is an assumption of the financial model and must ultimately be replaced by an actual supplier's commercial offer.
For base production, a supply of around 15,000 tonnes of raw material is needed, although the actual requirement will depend on the raw material's quality, moisture, impurities and process losses.
The actual raw material yield should therefore be determined by the technology supplier in the final technical and financial model.
According to the practical range given by technology suppliers, there may be approximately 3–8% process waste/separated fraction, depending on the quality of the raw material and the processing technology.
| For 15,000 tonnes this is approximately: | |
|---|---|
| 3% | 450 tonnes |
| 5% | 750 tonnes |
| 8% | 1,200 tonnes |
Not necessarily.
One of the project's important advantages is the possibility of using suitable fractions as road de-icing salt.
That is, the portion that does not meet edible salt requirements but is technically suitable for other purposes can be used as a separate product, subject to the relevant standards and quality control.
With this approach the plant aims for a near-zero-waste economic model.
Yes, this is an additional commercial direction.
If the fraction obtained from the process meets the relevant road salt requirements, it can be sold separately.
In this case the plant gains two economic benefits:
The base model uses: 700 USD per full trip, with a 25-tonne load.
| At 2.70 GEL/USD | 700 × 2.70 = 1,890 GEL/trip |
| For 15,000 tonnes | 15,000 ÷ 25 = 600 trips per year |
| Annual transport cost | 600 × 1,890 = 1,134,000 GEL |
This too is a working assumption of the financial model and must ultimately be confirmed by transport companies' offers.
The plant will use an industrial processing line covering raw material intake, processing, cleaning, washing/dissolving where necessary, drying, fractionation, iodization and packaging.
The exact process scheme must be finally approved with the selected EPC/technology company.
For 15,000 tonnes per year, with 300 working days and an 8-hour shift, the average requirement is:
50 tonnes/day = 6.25 tonnes/hour.
In practical design, a line of around the 8 tonnes/hour class is therefore considered, to provide a technological margin and make it possible to meet the planned production.
The plant's technological complex may include:
The final list must be determined by the technology supplier's technical offer.
This is an important technical issue for the project.
Because of the corrosion risk in a salt environment, critical parts in direct contact with food or salt will be required to use an appropriate grade of stainless steel, particularly SS316L, and SS304/304L where technically acceptable.
The supplier will be required to provide:
The plant must have a quality control system, including:
The plant must operate in line with Georgia's current food safety and labelling requirements.
In Georgia, iodization requirements for salt intended for human consumption are regulated by law. Accordingly, the plant's products must meet the applicable national standards and requirements.
Yes. A significant volume of the salt on the Georgian market is imported.
According to 2024 data, under HS code 2501 Georgia imported approximately 68.9 million kg of salt and related products, worth approximately 6.76 million USD.
The main suppliers were Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan.
This shows that there is a real import-substitution market for a local producer.
The main customers will be:
| In the base model | |
|---|---|
| 1 kg pack | 0.60 GEL/kg — i.e. 600 GEL/tonne |
| 20 kg pack | 7.60 GEL/sack — i.e. 380 GEL/tonne |
These are base financial assumptions, not a guaranteed market price.
| 1 kg packs | 6,000 tonnes × 600 GEL = 3,600,000 GEL |
| 20 kg packs | 9,000 tonnes × 380 GEL = 3,420,000 GEL |
| Total annual sales | 7,020,000 GEL |
The weighted average selling price comes to approximately 468 GEL/tonne.
15,000 tonnes × 21.60 GEL = 324,000 GEL/year.
| Raw material | 324,000 GEL |
| Transport | 1,134,000 GEL |
| Total | 1,458,000 GEL/year |
That is, an average of approximately 97.20 GEL/tonne.
The base model uses the following working budget:
| Cost | Annual amount |
|---|---|
| Raw material | 324,000 GEL |
| Transportation | 1,134,000 GEL |
| Electricity | 172,800 GEL |
| Gas | 86,400 GEL |
| Packaging | 450,000 GEL |
| Salaries | 550,000 GEL |
| Iodine/process materials | 60,000 GEL |
| Water | 50,000 GEL |
| Repairs/spare parts | 180,000 GEL |
| Laboratory | 40,000 GEL |
| Administration | 100,000 GEL |
| Insurance/security/other | 80,000 GEL |
| Marketing | 100,000 GEL |
| Total | 3,327,200 GEL |
Its competitive advantages will be:
Kareli's location is attractive from a logistics point of view, as the plant can connect to the central Georgian market and use the east–west transport corridors.
The availability of approximately 6,000 m² of land for the production complex is also important.
Yes. As the plant develops, exports to neighbouring and other markets can be considered, including:
The initial financial model focuses mainly on the local market.
No.
The company's long-term model can be based on several revenue streams:
This creates a diversified revenue model for the business.
The project's most important opportunity is that the plant should not be seen only as a "salt factory". It can develop into a multi-product platform for salt products.
Next opportunities:
Growth is therefore possible both by increasing volume and by increasing the margin earned per kilogram.
The payback period will depend on the final CAPEX.
So, for example, if the final investment cost is X million GEL, a simple operating payback is determined approximately by the formula:
Investment ÷ annual operating profit
In the final investment proposal this must be calculated once actual commercial offers for the CAPEX have been received.
There is no 100% guarantee of profit in business.
This project aims to reduce risk through factors such as:
An investor's decision should be based not only on an optimistic scenario but also on a conservative financial model.
Because the project combines several important factors:
a stable consumer product + import substitution + local production + several packaging formats + new high-margin products + production growth potential + sale of an additional product.
The base model is calculated on only 15,000 tonnes and one shift, which allows the project's efficiency to be assessed under a relatively cautious production mode.
And in addition: standard salt → premium packaging → 0.250 and 0.800 gram individual product → Private Label → additional road salt.
The ultimate goal is to create a modern, automated and competitive Georgian salt plant that will initially operate at an annual capacity of 15,000 tonnes of iodized salt on one shift, and will be able to increase production in line with market demand.
The main direction of the project's development will be not only producing more tonnes, but creating higher added value for every kilogram.
It is these two directions that create the project's long-term investment potential.
Get in touch about the project, partnership and future supply.